"Introductory chapters offer general information on the Cruciferae, principal features of family members, taxonomic criteria, and methods of treatment. The work concludes with an appendix of new names, a list of literature cited, and an index."--BOOK JACKET.

This encyclopedia contains a comprehensive treatment of the taxonomy of the families and genera of ferns and seed plants. The present volume, the fifth in this series, deals with three major groups of dicotyledons, the Capparales, Malvales, and Non-betalain Caryophyllales.

Flora of North America Volume 7 will be the eighth of 19 volumes on dicotyledons to be published in the Flora of North America North of Mexico series. It treats 923 species classified among 125 genera in 11 families; the larger families covered in Volume 7 include Brassicaceae (Mustard family), Cleomaceae (Spiderflower family), and Salicaceae (Willow family). The endemic family Limnanthaceae with eight species classified in two genera (Floerkea and Limnanthes) is also included in the volume. Each genus has representative species illustrated with a line drawing that, in combination with keys and descriptions, will facilitate identifications of these groups of plants. Some of the genera treated in this volume with the most species in the flora area include: Boechera, Cardamine, Draba, Lepidium, Physaria, and Streptanthus (Brassicaceae) with 109, 39, 121, 42, 88, and 35 species, respectively; plus Salix and Populus (Salicaceae) with 113 and 8 species, respectively. Three families are represented in the flora each with a single introduced species: Caricaceae (Papaya family), Moringaceae (Drumstick tree family), and Tropaeolaceae (Nasturtium family). Standing Orders To receive all Flora of North America titles automatically as they are published, and at a 25% discount, please submit your request for a standing order (ISBN 978-0-19-521735-3) to [email protected].

The plant species that humans rely upon have an extended family of wild counterparts that are an important source of genetic diversity used to breed productive crops. These wild and weedy cousins are valuable as a resource for adapting our food, forage, industrial and other crops to climate change. Many wild plant species are also directly used, especially for revegetation, and as medicinal and ornamental plants. North America is rich in these wild plant genetic resources. This book is a valuable reference that describes the important crop wild relatives and wild utilized species found in Canada, the United States and Mexico. The book highlights efforts taken by these countries to conserve and use wild resources and provides essential information on best practices for collecting and conserving them. Numerous maps using up-to-date information and methods illustrate the distribution of important species, and supplement detailed description on the potential value these resources have to agriculture, as well as their conservation statuses and needs. There is broad recognition of the urgent need to conserve plant diversity; however, a small fraction of wild species is distinguished by their potential to support agricultural production. Many of these species are common, even weedy, and are easily overshadowed by rare or endangered plants. Nevertheless, because of their genetic proximity to agriculturally important crops or direct use, they deserve to be recognized, celebrated, conserved, and made available to support food and agricultural security. This comprehensive two-volume reference will be valuable for students and scientists interested in economic botany, and for practitioners at all levels tasked with conserving plant biodiversity.

The objective of this guide is to assist federal personnel, professional and amateur botanists, and interested lay persons in the identification of the rarest plant species in Wyoming. Species covered in the guide include USFWS candidate and listed Threatened and Endangered plants, USFS Sensitive species, and plants of special concern monitored by WYNDD.

The Genetics and Genomics of the Brassicaceae provides a review of this important family (commonly termed the mustard family, or Cruciferae). The family contains several cultivated species, including radish, rocket, watercress, wasabi and horseradish, in addition to the vegetable and oil crops of the Brassica genus. There are numerous further species with great potential for exploitation in 21st century agriculture, particularly as sources of bioactive chemicals. These opportunities are reviewed, in the context of the Brassicaceae in agriculture. More detailed descriptions are provided of the genetics of the cultivated Brassica crops, including both the species producing most of the brassica vegetable crops (B. rapa and B. oleracea) and the principal species producing oilseed crops (B. napus and B. juncea). The Brassicaceae also include important “model” plant species. Most prominent is Arabidopsis thaliana, the first plant species to have its genome sequenced. Natural genetic variation is reviewed for A. thaliana, as are the genetics of the closely related A. lyrata and of the genus Capsella. Self incompatibility is widespread in the Brassicaceae, and this subject is reviewed. Interest arising from both the commercial value of crop species of the Brassicaceae and the importance of Arabidopsis thaliana as a model species, has led to the development of numerous resources to support research. These are reviewed, including germplasm and genomic library resources, and resources for reverse genetics, metabolomics, bioinformatics and transformation. Molecular studies of the genomes of species of the Brassicaceae revealed extensive genome duplication, indicative of multiple polyploidy events during evolution. In some species, such as Brassica napus, there is evidence of multiple rounds of polyploidy during its relatively recent evolution, thus the Brassicaceae represent an excellent model system for the study of the impacts of polyploidy and the subsequent process of diploidisation, whereby the genome stabilises. Sequence-level characterization of the genomes of Arabidopsis thaliana and Brassica rapa are presented, along with summaries of comparative studies conducted at both linkage map and sequence level, and analysis of the structural and functional evolution of resynthesised polyploids, along with a description of the phylogeny and karyotype evolution of the Brassicaceae. Finally, some perspectives of the editors are presented. These focus upon the Brassicaceae species as models for studying genome evolution following polyploidy, the impact of advances in genome sequencing technology, prospects for future transcriptome analysis and upcoming model systems.

"While emphasizing scientific accuracy, the book is written in an accessible style. Felger's observations and knowledge of plant ecology, geographic distribution, evolution, ethnobotany, plant variation and special adaptations, and the history of the region provide botanists, naturalists, ecologists, conservationists, and anyone else celebrating the desert with readable, interesting, and important information."--BOOK JACKET.